


Summer Dreams (the genie fic)

by sirinsq



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Genie/Djinn, Bickering, Fluff, Japanese Keith (Voltron), Japanese Shiro (Voltron), Korean Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Speaks Spanish, Languages and Linguistics, M/M, Multilingual Character, My First Work in This Fandom, Shiro (Voltron) is Missing, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Trans Pidge | Katie Holt, fuck space, genie!Lance, hes exploring, im multilingual too so i know how languages work don't worry, keith is an orphan but has a family, kidding hes just on a trip, klance, sometimes things that are more expensive are worse, warning grocery shopping, warning vegetable abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2018-12-09 20:17:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11676327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirinsq/pseuds/sirinsq
Summary: “Are youfloating.” The Ice Queen was back.“-what? What, yeah,” his mortal enemy said, looking down at himself. “Dude, you didn’t notice? I’ve been like this the whole time!”---Lance is a genie.Keith is not thrilled.[CH 4 is a notice, not a chapter!]





	1. The Genie

**Author's Note:**

> Heads up, the setting is an alternate Earth with a kinda solar!punk vibe
> 
> translations on hover and explanatory links in footnotes!

 

Keith Kim was no quitter.

 

At least, that’s what he told himself as he lugged what felt like 30 pounds of groceries with both arms. It was only a little further to the apartment he shared with Shiro, but the sweat dripping into his eyes and the heat shimmer of the sidewalk made him feel like he was on an endless desert trek. _With a lot of baggage._

His thick bangs blocked his vision of the darkened road to his left and the small, colorful houses to his right; if he focused only on the tan concrete beneath him and the sandy, rock-gardened yards in his peripheral, he could almost imagine he was alone in an undeveloped world.

Keith snorted at his own thoughts. He could barely handle the grocery store; if he was alone and had to forage for his own food, he was pretty sure he would die.

He tried shaking his sweaty hair away from his face so he could look at something other than his ratty tennis shoes, but the black strands fell uncomfortably back into his stinging eyes.

He sighed, giving up on seeing where he was going. _Thank god I at least wore these stupid fingerless gloves_. If it weren’t for the tough black fabric protecting his palms from the friction of his hundred groceries, Keith wasn’t sure he would be making it home with all his fingers.

 _All this because I’ve been living on ramen for 3 weeks_ , Keith reflected. It had taken him that long to accept that Shiro would not magically reappear to make him meals. Now his mass grocery trip had resulted in milk for days, straining arm muscles, and several vegetables that he was uncertain how to cook.

 _How hard can an eggplant really be—what was that?_ Keith squinted into the white glint wedged between the sidewalk and someone’s pebbles and summer-green pink muhly grass arrangement. The sun hitting a gold – was that a bracelet? – had almost blinded him.

He moved so his shadow blocked the blazing sunlight and squinted for a closer look. It was an intricately detailed heavy-looking cuff, open on one end with rounded edges, only an inch or two in width and probably too big for his wrist - Keith hesitated for a minute, fighting the weight of his many bags. On one hand, he wasn’t sure he could pick his mess of fabrics and plastic back up if he dared to put them down, but on the other hand, he did like collecting shiny things…

An ominous shift of weight in one of the bags decided it for him and he began to stride away. _Besides, it probably belongs to one of the neighbor’s kids,_ he thought with a touch of regret. Really, he should be more concerned with dropping something on the street and ruining it before he has the chance to ruin it with his cooking attempts, instead of yearning for abandoned jewelry in the dirt like a freak-

“Hey! Dude, are you seriously walking away right now?”

Keith froze, startled. Shiro had always laughed at Keith’s Ice Queen face, but Shiro hadn’t seen where he was living before… He missed his leather jacket. _No one messes with me when I’m wearing leather_.

Keith turned slowly, projecting as much arrogance as he could muster given his dumb hair and distinctly unintimidating red tank and black basketball shorts combo, a carefully frigid glare ready to destroy the voice looking for a fight.

His eyes widened. Where he had expected an armed punk ready to mug the sucker slowed down with approximately 50 pounds of groceries, he saw a lanky boy around his age standing a few feet behind him, arms crossed and – sulking? At first glance the kid didn’t look like a threat, but Keith himself had often defied expectations.

 _And there was no one around me a second ago_. Keith let his eyes narrow and didn’t drop his arrogant front, keeping his gaze locked to his harasser’s steely blue eyes.

He waited for any hints of a sudden move to cross the kid’s almost comically expressive face, stayed tense and ready to retaliate despite being weighed down – _a gallon of milk to the face would take him down but would the mess be worth it, maybe the 20 pack of ramen?_ – but his opponent’s warm brown skin conveyed nothing but irritation, as if _Keith_ was the one harassing passerby. Keith was pretty sure he hated the kid already.

The punk’s dark brown hair didn’t have a strand out of place even in the heavy heat, Keith noted jealously. He suddenly hoped his own face wasn’t too red. _I won’t put the groceries down_ , he decided and made sure his arms looked extra flexed to compensate for whatever hideousness the heat had brought out in his own hair.

Angular blue eyes flickered to his arms. “Dude, did you just-did you just _flex_ at me?”

Their silent stand-off ended as the kid’s irritation melted into open mirth, but his tone sounded more mocking than friendly. Keith frowned.

“And this isn’t Pokémon either dude, like what the hell, are you gonna just stare me down all _macho pecho peludo_?”

Keith didn’t understand the Spanish phrase fully, but he knew he didn’t like the burst of snickers that followed it. His body shifted from red-alert defensive to ready to throw the first punch.

“Only _bozos_ laugh at their own jokes,” Keith said finally, voice flat. He lowered his groceries slowly to his side – but not to the ground! He wasn’t about to show weakness in front of this brat – and he carefully hid his smugness when the other boy’s eyes followed the languid curl of his arms. It didn’t knock the mocking look of his face, though. _Maybe I need to work out more,_ Keith noted thoughtfully. _This doesn’t happen when Shiro does it._

“Bo- _Bozo_? Nobody in this century uses that word, dude, you basically just insulted yourself!”

His opponent’s eyes had a cocky look to them, even when they flashed with intrigue as Keith smirked viciously. “I used it because I thought it suited present company.”

The other boy squawked in outrage. _Point to me_. Keith just held his smirk as he pointed ridiculously to himself with both hands. “Excuse you! I am hip! Unlike someone here who is wearing _fingerless gloves_ , I am in tune to the current decade! I’m so in tune I’m a radio! I’m post-radio! I’m an iPhone7 Plus!”

Keith rolled his eyes a bit. He was facing off against someone who had turned into a steam engine of nonsense with one insult; he faced more of a threat from what his groceries were going to do to his poor arms if he didn’t get home soon. Bored and considering just walking away to really cement his victory, Keith idly looked down from the face that was now arguing to no one that “soon iPhones will just be implanted into your brain, anyway! Besides, you’re one to talk! The eighties called, they want their hair back!” taking in a swimmer’s build that – wait –

“Are you _floating._ ” The Ice Queen was back.

“-what? What, yeah,” his mortal enemy said, looking down at himself. “Dude, you didn’t notice? I’ve been like this the whole time!”

His thin blue sweatshirt faded down into a shimmery gray mist that moved miasmically in the humid air, looking weirdly alive. It tapered away in a sinuous curve to a thin tendril which seemed tethered to…to the bracelet? _The fucking bracelet._ Keith considered fainting so his world could reset to normal by the time he came to. He could avoid being hysterical if he passed out, right? _No, stay upright for the eggplant._ Besides, Keith had a feeling if he lost consciousness now he would wake up with sharpie all over his face.

“What, that’s it?” The stranger who was part _mist_ _WHAT THE FUCK_ asked pointedly, an eyebrow raised and head cocked to the side like a challenge. There was an annoying lilt to his voice that cut through Keith’s panic, pulled out his competitive side. Keith dragged his eyes away from the gray and met his gaze coolly. He kept his eyes there. Maybe if he waited long enough there would be legs, he decided faintly. _Maybe it’s a trick of the heat?_

What he said aloud was, “What, were you expecting something?” Keith’s entire world was currently recalculating, but at least he knew he didn’t want to give this punk any kind of satisfaction. Keith shifted on his feet, torn between tackling the unknown or taking off away from it. They were standing three sidewalk panes apart, too far and too close for him to make a clear decision, so he stood in an uneasy stasis.

At least he had his 70 pounds of groceries to keep himself grounded. Keith usually dreamed of flying robot cats, not reusable bags in 110% humidity and _PEOPLE WHO TURNED INTO MIST._

The _BOY WHO TURNED INTO MIST_ was now rolling his eyes. “Alright, it’s almost not worth it if there’s no wow factor,” he muttered. Keith choked down his hysterical laughter when he realized that his foe had apparently _believed_ his calm exterior, but he kept his face as placid as a lake and lifted an eyebrow as the _BOY WHO TURNED INTO MIST_ scrutinized his face carefully, blue eyes peering for any sign of distress. Keith had learned to tamp that down early. _Thank god for small blessings._

“Whatever, man,” the _BOY WHO TURNED INTO MIST_ finally complained. Keith eyed him, eye twitching, as he stretched with a blasé air. The deep v-neck of his thin blue hoodie revealed no shirt underneath, just flat dark skin. _So he must be affected by the real-world heat, right? That means he can be affected by real-world hits, too,_ Keith thought darkly. _I’ll kill him with the frozen 붕어빵if I have to._

“So, eighties freak, I’m Lance!”

This introduction was accompanied by a wide sparkling grin, two thumbs pointing at his chest, and a ridiculous wink that tipped Keith a little more towards murder. “And as you can see, I’m a genie,” the _BOY WHO TURNED INTO MIST_ said carelessly, gesturing towards his lower body as if Keith hadn’t already noticed the _MIST_.

“Normally what happens is someone walks by here, they notice the bracelet and feel kind of drawn to it, they pick it up and _bam!_ They scream, I laugh, I grant them three wishes and wipe their memory and we all leave with a good time! But for some reason, _you-_ ” Lance the _BOY WHO TURNED INTO MIST_ squinted at him and – floated? _He’s really floating what is my life –_ a bit closer as Keith resisted the urge to step back purely as a point of pride. “ _You_ , my man, decided to walk away without picking up the bracelet!”

“What’s your problem.” Keith pitched his voice low and menacing so Lance the _BOY WHO TURNED INTO MIST_ couldn’t hear how hoarse he was.

“ _You_ are!” the genie – _I swear to God why couldn’t this have happened to Shiro instead–_ punctuated this by throwing his arms up and twirling away in exaggerated disgust. Keith wondered if he was somehow dealing with a five-year-old in disguise. _Magic can do that, right?_

“Like I said, what’s your problem.”

“ _You_ were supposed to pick up the bracelet! You were gonna scream, drop some groceries, it would have been hilarious! Then three wishes because that haircut looks like you need some, let me tell you, and then we would have been on our merry way!” Lance the _BOY-GENIE WHO TURNED INTO MIST_ put his fists on his hips and leaned in belligerently, still tethered a few feet away. “ _Instead_ , you decided to walk past like some kinda tough guy, so I figured I’d pop up and help you out, but you’re no fun! What the fuck, man? What the hell is your life if a genie doesn’t even spook you! You didn’t drop a single bag! I am absolutely offended!”

Keith listened to this rant with growing incomprehension. _What kind of idiot just waits around jumping out at people?!_ If it weren’t for Shiro’s anger-management lessons lingering in the back of his mind, Keith would have already slammed his thousand grocery bags into this dumbass’s face to test his real-world hits theory, food be damned.

Keith took a silent, slow breath, tamping down his anger-laden confusion. He would be more sensitive about the digs at his poor hair if it wasn’t sandwiched between impossible idiocy. At least his decision to not put his 90 pounds of groceries down had worked in his favor overall. _Another point to me_. He could just ice his arms tonight.

“Well, _Lance_ , I didn’t realize I was ruining your great weekend plans. Sorry I didn’t fall for you.” He tipped his head towards the bracelet. Lance, the boy who was mostly an idiot, started to fume and tinge red, and Keith smirked, pleased that his opponent wasn’t too dumb to catch his double meaning.

“Don’t- don’t make it _weird_ , oh my god! I am here to help you! Look, you macho motherfu-“

“Keith,” Keith supplied helpfully. Somehow, all the irritation this conversation had brought him was now becoming worth it – and he didn’t even have to deal with the guilt of Shiro’s disapproving face a good fight always brought.

“-you _macho motherfucker_ , I am a fucking genie! You get three wishes, put on the – oh my god, forgot it, _I’ll_ just-!“

Suddenly, Lance the idiot was moving, a blur of blue and smoke in the hot sunlight. _What the fuck-_ Keith stepped back, beginning to panic. _I didn’t know he could move around so fast!_ He tried to keep his eyes on the now fluid mist, trying to filter out the distractingly sharp gold glint to figure out where there was skin to punch, but before he could do anything at all there was cold metal against his tense bicep and a clammy sensation down his arm and sly blue eyes right in front of his face.

“There,” Lance the dangerous genie said with satisfaction. His grin curled up his face. “Now you’re wearing the bracelet and I can grant you three wishes.”

Keith shivered a little. Where he had expected a warm puff of breath against his face, Lance hovering just a few inches away, he instead felt the same clamminess that was slowly dissipating from his arm. The feeling of cold metal remained, though.

“Did you just-“ Keith narrowed his eyes, his blood running hot. “ _Did you just put the bracelet on me yourself?”_

He leaned in close, threatening, _I don’t give a fuck if he’s incorporeal_ , and allowed a dangerous sneer to flit across his face as Lance widened his eyes and leaned unconsciously out of his space.

“Okay, uh, I do admit that in retrospect this was very nonconsensual and I am very sorry for not just talking you into putting it on yourself, but c’mon man! I’m a genie!” Lance looped away in a blur of blue-grey but rematerialized only a yard away. Keith noted with almost detached fury that Lance’s mist was now tethered to his _fucking arm_ , and the _fucking idiot_ apparently could not get any fucking further away _._ He glared daggers at the jewelry, unnaturally weightless and snug around his upper arm.

“Look, look, I’m sorry, okay, stop making that face! Just make three wishes and it’ll pop right off and you can forgive me because of the awesome shit I’ll do for you, okay?”

Keith snapped his head away from the cold bracelet to Lance’s stupid face, trying to burn him alive with his glare. “Are you trying to tell me,” he growled, “that this won’t come off unless I let you grant three of my wishes?”

“What is that attitude for, dude, who doesn’t want wishes granted!” Lance crossed his arms, irritation starting to replace the contrition on his face. _Because somehow the_ genie _gets to be irritated now!_

“I didn’t ask for this!” Keith almost shouted. He shook his groceries with a large rustling. “I don’t need any goddamn wishes granted!”

“It’s not hard, so stop complicating it!” Lance leaned in more, his own eyes narrowed back. Keith wanted to beat his arrogant face in with his fists, but he could feel the faint reminder of Shiro’s future disappointment cutting through the red. If it weren’t for the 100 pounds of groceries he was still carrying, _why does my life always have to be the worst_ , Keith still would have tried for at least a black eye.

Lance had taken a few obnoxiously deep breaths, only fanning Keith’s internal flames. “Look,” he said seriously, but patronizingly slowly. “All you have to do, Keith? Keith, is make three small, small, _tiiiiiny_ wishes and then the contract will be fulfilled and you can never see me again. You want those groceries at your house, Keith? In the goddamn fridge or whatever? Just ask me, and that’s one wish down!”

 _Just ask…_ Keith suddenly blanked out his face, rage hidden behind ice. Lance was hovering too close again, but he drifted back a bit to regard him with an appropriate expression of great suspicion. “So for you to grant my wish, I need to ask you.”

“Yeeeesss….” Lance answered slowly, every letter dripping with wariness. “I can feel when you want something badly enough to make a wish, but I can pretty much do nothing unless you specifically ask for it. For example!”

Suddenly, his demeanor switched from skeptical to oily, and he spoke with a skeevy tone Keith bet meant Lance thought himself cunning. “I can feel that you are pretty sick of carrying those groceries, my man.” Lance hovered closer and higher, forcing him to look up, and Keith could feel uncomfortable clamminess run down his arm anew as the mist tendril draped around it.

“Let me take care of it and we’ll only have two wishes to go…?” Lance’s voice ended on a trailing high note as Keith smiled fakely up at him, all teeth. _The satisfaction of throwing this maniac off his game almost makes up for how insufferable he is._

“No thanks,” Keith said sweetly up at Lance’s bewildered face. “I don’t want any of _your_ help.”

Lance immediately moved down to hover at eye-level. “What the fuck, man, this is such an easy wish to make! Why not-!“

“In fact,” Keith cut Lance off, still painfully sweet. His smile turned vicious. He leaned in close, enjoying watching Lance’s surprised eyes flit between his own narrowed eyes to try and read his next move. Keith dropped his voice to dark whisper. “I’m not going to make any wishes at all.”

There was a moment of crystalline silence. The tension between them froze as Lance processed words Keith was gleefully certain the genie had never heard in his life. He watched with triumph as Lance’s brow furrowed, his eyes almost starting to twitch.

Finally, Lance’s mouth dropped open.

“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK YOU MOTHER FUCKING –“

The screeching suddenly cut off as Lance popped out of existence. Keith calmly watched the wisps of grey smoke remaining float away into the bright summer air. He thought he might be in shock from encountering a magical being for the first time in his life, because his only reaction was pure, cutthroat satisfaction.

It faded into wariness as Keith waited for a minute, but nothing else insane happened. Lance the idiot genie didn’t reappear, and Keith still had bangs plastered to his forehead in the sweaty heat, itching his now stress-dry eyes. The bracelet was still a band of coolness against his bicep.

One of his grocery bags gave and an eggplant hit the ground with a faint thump. Keith carefully looked down, dazed, and watches it be completely normal and unmoving.

 _I think…_ he slowly scooped up his vegetable, almost overbalancing from his weightless groceries, and clutched it to his chest. _I think,_ _I’m going to go home and lay down for a long time._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you ever want to write something short for your first fic and instead make something incredibly long even though you're not a writer  
> anyway
> 
> send me love & critiques! This is my first long work so I definitely need to be encouraged like a delicate flower~  
> my [Tumblr!](http://www.sirinsquared.tumblr.com)
> 
> may all your eggplants stay unbruised
> 
> Relevant Stuff:  
>  _macho pecho peludo_ = (slang) big macho man, which I first heard from the youtuber [HolaSoyGerman](https://www.youtube.com/user/HolaSoyGerman)  
> [붕어빵 ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J2RLC6D7n0)= bungeoppang, literally goldfish bread; Korean fish-shaped sweet bread filled with red bean, Japanese version has many more filling options


	2. Space School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has a great first day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For everything school-related, think art nouveau
> 
> Translations on hover!

 

Space school.

Iron-wrought gates, bent to shape stars and planets and the great beyond, guarded an expensive, exquisite campus dedicated to training the next generation of space explorers. The academy was nationally renowned and very well-funded. There was no limit to what they provided, whether it be equipment, homework, or opportunities; everything was available except for sympathy from the teachers.

In other words, this was Keith’s school for the summer.

Keith glared blearily at the gates, other students walking around him with confused glances as they entered the campus. He couldn’t really blame them, considering he hadn’t moved in five minutes. _And I’m wearing leather in the summer_.

But he wasn’t planning to take his leather jacket off no matter the cost – he had already extensively dry-shampooed and hair-sprayed, bathed in deodorant, and added cooling packets inside his combat boots. The bracelet clamped to his arm was still noticeably cool against his skin, making the left-side of his jacket more bearable, but he wasn’t going to count that as a positive considering the bracelet was the reason he had to dress like this anyway.

No one was getting the jump on him today, supernatural creature or otherwise. Considering the “ _why the FUCK is a genie harraSSING mE”_ google-binge that had kept him up last night and the aggressive morning prep routine that he had woken up early for, complete with cover-up for his sickly purple dark circles and debating removing his left arm to get rid of the fucking magic bracelet, Keith felt he deserved any extra protection he could get.

He had been justifiably paranoid of every sidewalk pane on his walk to school, and now he was suspicious of his space school, examining the gates for hidden messages – what if genies were just a form of alien, and he was the unlucky test subject chosen by the higher-ups?

_It’s not paranoia,_ Keith reassured himself. The acceptance committee had not been happy with his history of altercations and disrespect for authority. Maybe Shiro’s celebrity student status, enough to get them to overlook his misconduct, wasn’t enough to protect Keith from nonconsensual alien experiments. _I mean, Shiro’s not even here! This is the perfect time to act if they wanted to torture—_

Keith felt something buzz against him and whipped around, making direct eye contact with a dark-skinned girl, reasonably dressed in a light sundress, who slowly lifted an eyebrow. The disgusted look she gave his jacket spoke volumes. He almost glared back at her out of habit, but there was another _bzz_ and he realized – _it’s my phone_ – he deserved to be judged.

Keith slid his beat-up phone from his jeans’ pocket and thumbed open the notification, trying to look chill as she passed him and not like he had immediately assumed he was being attacked by an alien.

_Have a good first day sweetie! Make a lot of friends!_ read the new texts from [SHIRO (Your  형! (^._.^))], and Keith rolled his eyes. Well, now he had to go in. Even if he texted Shiro back with his alien experiment theory, Keith was pretty sure the response would be _‘befriend the aliens lol’_.

_I will talk to nothing but space equipment,_ he replied instead of ‘ _why the FUCK is a genie harraSSING mE’._

His phone buzzed immediately. _lol now ur rly my 後輩 :* ;) tell monitor 46 hi for me _read the next text from Shiro, and Keith snorted, smiling despite himself as he pocketed his phone and turned back around.

He kept his eyes focused ahead as he finally crossed the school gates, preemptively ignoring any more magic objects with attached annoyances that could be laying around in the school’s moss lawns bisected by the glittering granite path to the stairs and open doors of the Main Building and Andromeda Auditorium. _Let someone else get cursed_ , Keith thought darkly.

Students around him in shorts and dresses and short-sleeves clustered in groups as they chatted and walked, everyone following the signs to Orientation; no one went out of their way to approach the kid in all-black, boots, and cropped red leather, an added benefit of Keith’s genie-proofing method.

He paused before the steps of the dark entrance of the Main Building, taking a moment to look up at the summer blue sky and memorize his last moment of solitude before he finally ascended into institutionalized hell.

He remembered what Shiro had been like a few years ago during his summer session, and Keith was not looking forward to becoming a crazed midnight-stress-baker himself; Shiro became absorbed in studying immediately after popping a new batch in the oven, and never noticed Keith stumbling down the stairs every night to turn off the oven and toss out the charred remains so their security deposit wouldn’t go up in flames.

_But when it’s the best space institution in the country, there are sacrifices to be made._ Suffering through the scent of burnt muffins for a month, Keith reasoned, must have deadened his soul enough to protect him from the impending pain.  

Keith headed towards the auditorium on auto-pilot. He’d been here several times already while Shiro was studying late. The vaulted ceilings and dimly lit main corridor, embellished with aging frescos of celestial objects, didn’t impress him anymore – this was nothing compared to the complex gardens in the middle of the campus – but he wasn’t surprised the other students were gaping, holding up their phones for better lighting and snapping photos. Keith would rather be gaping in awe at the newer training rooms with high-quality equipment Shiro had snuck him into during the school’s Open House.

He hadn’t told Shiro about his encounter with a genie yet; he had still been processing (or rather, in denial) and now he wouldn’t have time until the end of orientations and classes today. Even then, Keith mused, it was unlikely he’d be able to call given Shiro’s shifting time zones. Shiro was clearly keeping track of Keith’s time to have sent his “go the fuck to school” texts, but he hadn’t had the time to return Keith’s vague and panicked voicemails except for a late night _?????_.

Keith, who was helpfully not travelling every hour, had no way to accommodate for the school’s intense recruitment tour itinerary. And it wasn’t like he could fully convey the situation just by text. _Even if I did, Shiro would probably tell me to just make three wishes, and that is_ not _an option._

Keith glared at nothing. He could imagine the smug face of that genie in front of him right now – it had kept him up all night raging at his pillow, and Keith was itching to test if he could punch the supernatural. _Even with my sore arms I bet I could take that punk down blindfolded. Twice! Maybe I can betray myself just once and wish to see that son of a –_

“Look at the size of that Venus!” Keith heard a loud cackle float over the echoing murmurs, and his eyes zeroed in on an obnoxiously bright blue tank top further down the hall. For a second he was terribly certain his wishes didn’t have to be spoken to be granted, because he could swear the back of that head was where his fist was meant to be.

Sleep deprivation had never been good for his impulse control. Keith strode around milling students toward the punk. Long lean legs, white shorts, dark brown hair and already Keith had a particular loathing for the bastard’s stance. _Those flip flops won’t stand a chance against my boots,_ Keith thought with dark smugness, glad overheating was actually going to pay off.

Keith was vaguely aware that he shouldn’t start a scene on his first day – _Shiro will not be happy –_ and somehow there were legs on this kid instead of smoke but as Keith neared, the student turned around to his friends and _yep, I recognize that goddamn face!_

“Here Hunk, take a pic of me holding it up, my little sister is trying to outdo me on Snapchat and I’m not saying I gotta win but I gotta –!!”

Keith delighted in seeing his opponent’s face blanch when he caught sight of his steady approach, his sentence ending in a high-pitched squeak. Keith grinned like a shark. _The tables have turned._ He hovered just a few paces away so Lance could see him clearly between his shorter friend’s messy haircut and taller friend’s dark brown arm, already ready with a phone camera.

“Lance, what-?” Keith could just hear the big friend start to ask before Lance shrieked, straight up shrieked, and Keith had to smother a surprised laugh. He blamed his sleep deprivation for the break in his menacing act. For someone who moonlighted as a trash-talking genie, Lance the human was being remarkably cowardly, and Keith watched with glittering amusement as Lance awkwardly trying to laugh it off as other students turned at his strange noise, scratching the back of his head and gesturing exaggeratedly at the fresco.

Keith didn’t need to hear him to know that Lance was spewing nonsense; he felt deeply vindicated as the other students clearly decided the kid was insane before turning back to their own conversations. _Maybe,_ Keith thought dryly _, I should just destroy him with words again and Shiro won’t have to know._ Besides, now that that shriek had interrupted Keith’s one-track fighting mission, he realized he would get unwanted attention if he just inexplicably punched another student on the first day.

_Unless other people know he’s a genie?_ Keith frowned. Just because he was new to this didn’t mean it was a secret, right? He examined Lance’s friends for any strange jewelry while Lance desperately trying to convince them to ignore his strange behavior, stiffly crouching in front of the Venus in the fresco with his hands up, his smug smile strained enough to look manic.

When Lance accidentally met his eyes again, Keith lifted his lip in a casual snarl to keep up appearances. His sleepless night was catching up with him and dulling his anger at the wimp. Lance’s smile became even more forced as he snapped his crazed eyes back to the tall friend’s phone, fear rolling off him so heavily Keith half-wondered if it would show up on camera.

Keith idly slid his eyes to the shorter friend’s jagged sandy hair – _how is it sticking up like that? Maybe some genie-linked hair clip? Maybe a wish for anime hair? Is Lance his genie too?_ – and startled when the pale kid turned around and looked at him, an unimpressed gaze framed by owl-like circle lenses. The glasses magnified his steady light brown eyes.

Keith sighed internally. _How many more people at this school are going to wordlessly judge me before the day’s over? I blame Lance completely._  

Something about that face reminded of Keith of someone, though, Matt’s grinning face coming to mind….

“Katie?” Keith muttered, confused. He’d seen Shiro’s best friend Matt often enough to know he had a kid sister, but Keith could’ve sworn she was a few years younger than Keith himself. In the few pictures he’d seen through Shiro she’d had long hair and a big grin and cute dresses. Now, with short hair, a baseball tee, and a permafrost scowl, she looked like a much grumpier young version of Matt, who had the personality of a happy puppy. _Maybe she’s here to visit her brother on campus? But that wouldn’t make sense, Matt is with Shiro…_

Katie’s look shifted from judgmental to alarmed, probably as recognition flashed across Keith’s face. It was too much work to keep his Ice Queen face up, especially now that he’d succeeded in terrifying Lance.

Keith took a hesitant step towards Katie. At a sharp quick shake of her head, he stopped with a discreet nod. She palmed her phone out of a pocket in her cargo shorts and gave him a meaningful look, then began typing furiously as Keith reached for his own phone.

Of course, this is when Lance slammed into him.

“Hey!” Keith started to push back, but Lance had surprised him and thrown him off-balance; the steady grip on his wrist convinced Keith to see where this led. _I can punch him anytime._ Keith was more intrigued by Lance’s drastic mood shifts, from arrogant to afraid to determined. Somehow, he seemed like a completely different person from yesterday. Keith still didn’t like the kid, but he had to admit Lance was more entertaining than a celestial fresco.

Lance tugged Keith towards the end of the hallway, Keith putting in just enough resistance to make it less obvious that he had already committed to going along. As soon as they cleared the rest of the students, who luckily accepted the beachy Latino boy dragging a too-punk-for-school Korean as the norm for space school – Keith was happy to not be a pariah but a little concerned about the strong bystander effect he was seeing – Lance began muttering to himself.

Keith listened carefully but he could only hear enough to know it was in quick Spanish. Even as he focused and pulled closer to Lance, Keith could only comprehend a few phrases: _"mi mamá me va a matar"_ and _"este idiota"_ and _"soy un idiota."_ The last phrase was his personal favorite. The rest of Lance’s rant, from what Keith could understand, involved a long and looping hypothetical where Keith told someone about something (Keith assumed this was about Lance being a genie but he wasn’t _quite_ certain) and Lance ended up rocketed into space alone forever, abandoning all friends and all hope.

_You know, I think I do have a handle on his true personality. Dramatic._ He wondered how Katie handled being friends with him; considering Matt’s general exuberance, she’d probably had more than enough practice holding on to reason and practicality. The other guy had seemed much more obliging.

Lance stopped abruptly has the hallway reached a T, swearing under his breath, still in Spanish. Keith waited a few seconds, watching Lance looking both ways down the new corridor.

“Turn left.” It was the first thing Keith had said since being dragged away, and Lance looked at him suspiciously for a few seconds. Keith waited passively with his eyebrows raised, watching Lance’s eyes as he hesitated, recalibrating to English; Keith was familiar with the feeling.

“You better not be trying any funny business!” Lance finally retorted before he turned to the left, walking even faster and jerking Keith along. Keith rolled his eyes, speeding up a little to keep up with Lance’s strides. This time, Lance’s monologue was in English, becoming less and less hushed the further they went without running into anyone.

The topic continued to be Lance’s woes while adrift in space. “Clearly this is all this idiot’s fault, and I bet there won’t even be any water on board and I’ll be condemned to die from thirst! Or worse, I bet the ship’s AI will be programmed to psychologically torture, and I’m the guinea pig!”

Keith rolled his eyes even harder and tried to tune him out, wishing Lance had continued talking to just himself so Keith wouldn’t be subjected to the entire insanity of Lance’s thought processes.

His phone had buzzed in his pocket a few times, probably texts from Katie. Keith considered sliding his phone out and checking them, debating whether he wanted to trust Lance to drag him along without injury. _What if she asks how I know him?_ Keith hesitated, but slid his phone from his pocket as they reached the double doors at the end of the hallway, labelled THE GALAXY GARDENS.

“That is the dumbest name I’ve seen so far on this campus,” Lance threw over his shoulder as he pushed through the right-side door.

Keith shrugged, trying to unlock his phone with one hand. “Not as bad as the Rocketship Registration Office.”

Lance glanced back at him with an expression of pure repulsion, and Keith smirked, freeing his arm from Lance’s grasp with a quick twist – just in time for Lance to stumble over the step down into the garden with another shriek of surprise.

“Ow!”

_I’m so glad Shiro showed me around,_ Keith thought contemplatively. He pointedly stepped onto the concrete ledge just under the threshold, and shoved his unchecked phone back in his pocket, leaning back against the now closed door behind him. He grinned at the sight of Lance sprawled out and groaning in the dirt of the garden, his white shorts stained with touches of green.

“You could have warned me!” Lance snapped crossly, sitting up and brushing off the nature that had attached itself to his clothes.

“Watch out, there’s a step,” Keith said dryly.

Lance glared up at him. “You set me up!” he accused, and Keith shrugged easily. No point denying the truth.

“What did you drag me out here for, anyway?” Keith had originally planned on silently glaring at Lance, but the immense entertainment he’d just provided made Keith feel magnanimous. _And I have a feeling he’s the kind of person to drag out a two-minute conversation and it is too damn hot out here._

Lance stuck his tongue out at him before clambering to his feet. Keith noted with great satisfaction that standing on the step forced Lance to look up at him, despite the two inches he had on Keith.

The gardens stretched out beautifully behind him. Keith split his attention between the butterflies fluttering from flower to flower and Lance’s sour expressions.

Lance gave a long, gusty sigh, scrubbing his hands through his hair. Keith smirked, pleased, as the perfect waves were disrupted, sticking up at odd angles.

“Look, I just wanted to apologize to you.”

Keith blinked. Lance was looking askance, glaring at dirt, his arms stiffly crossed in front of his chest. But his voice had sounded very sincere.

“Is this a joke?” Keith finally asked without meaning to, his voice honestly confused instead of hostile. _I am so off my game today._  Keith made a note to get more sleep the next time he had to deal with Lance and the insanity that came with him.

“No, you jerk!” Lance scowled up at him, his eyes showing much more passion than Keith was expecting from someone demonstrating the body language of a coerced five-year-old. “Look, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry, okay? I know it was a shitty thing to do and I shouldn’t have done it, and I couldn’t sleep at all last night, so I just wanted to apologize! So there!”

Lance threw his arms up as if to finalize the matter. Keith gaped.

“If…you want to apologize,” Keith started slowly. “Then why don’t you just take the damn thing off me!” He shook his left arm at Lance, glaring down at him.

He watched Lance’s eyes track his arm approximately where the bracelet was still clamped to his skin under his jacket sleeve. _Any second now,_ Keith hoped with frustration, _the bracelet will just pop off and I can forget this ever happened_. But he already had a feeling that nothing involving Lance was ever that simple.

“I can’t,” Lance muttered, looking away, and Keith resisted the urge to drag his hands through his own hair. _There’s too much product. The only thing going for me right now is that my hair looks better than his_. He took a couple quiet deep breaths instead, covering his eyes with a hand. The less he looked at Lance the less likely he was to cause bodily injury, right?

“What do you mean, you can’t,” Keith asked after a long moment of silence, focusing on the darkness under his hand instead of looking at Lance’s stupid face as he inevitably pissed him off even more.  

“I mean – well, do you know anything about genies?”

Keith cracked open his fingers to glare balefully down at Lance with one eye. “Other than what I’ve been told by the one who harassed me yesterday?”

Lance didn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed. “Right, so that’s a no. So the thing with genies, is, well.”

Keith watched dully with one eye as Lance suddenly started fidgeting under the hot sun, blatantly looking everywhere that wasn’t Keith. _I’m not going to like this_.

“So, the thing is, when you, when _any_ one puts on a genie’s item, they’re basically bound in a contract for three wishes and one wish on the part of the genie, no matter what the circumstance is.” Keith felt a stress headache coming on as Lance smiled weakly at him for a second, before he snapped back to his infuriating self. “But don’t you worry, my man! I will make this up to you by helping you make the best wishes on the planet! And, I’ll even give you _my_ wish at the end! You’ll get four kickass wishes!”

Keith shook his hands in the air, wondering if he just grabbed Lance and _shook him_ maybe something sensible would come out. “How- _what_ \- I told you I don’t want any wishes! How would giving me one more wish fix anything, you idiot!”

Lance stretched his arms outwards in a gesture of exaggerated helplessness, matching Keith glare for glare. _Like he has any right!_

“Look, I know you don’t want this, okay! But that’s the situation we’re in, and I get that it’s my fault, but if you would just make some fucking wishes then we could get this over with, alright! I had no fucking idea you’d somehow be the kind of freak who hates literally everything about genies, but the only thing I can do to make up for this is to get you away from me as fast as possible, and the only way I can do _that_ is to grant your wishes! Genies are supposed to help you, man! I know I fucked up, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do something good for you!”

Keith stared. Lance was panting after his outburst, clearly waiting for Keith’s response. Keith said nothing; normally he would have shouted right back no matter what, but he was flabbergasted by the turns this conversation was taking. And he had only found out about genies yesterday.

Lance rolled his eyes with his entire body and dropped back to the ground, sprawling out again and staring up at the sky.

Keith considered the new information that had just been yelled at him, frowning as a phrase kept looping in his head. “ _Get you away from me as fast as possible.”_ He looked down at Lance, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. Everything about Lance seemed to fit in with the sweltering summer around them; Keith felt almost like Lance’s limbs would still carry the sun’s heat when they went back inside. Then he felt like punching himself, because one high school poetry class was no excuse for this bullshit.

_He really looks completely human,_ Keith noted idly, trailing his eyes over Lance’s exposed legs. They looked like an ordinary pair of legs, with ten toes and a faint scar on one shin and prominent tan lines on the thighs; the smooth skin of his knees, though, where Keith’s were rough and dry, made them look almost too perfect. _What if the legs are an illusion and the smoke is real? Or what if the smoke was an illusion and he had legs the whole time?_

Keith stifled a yawn. He could stress out about genies again when he’d had more sleep, he decided. Last night had filled his supernatural obsessing quota for the week.

“I’m not going to make any wishes.” Keith said decisively. He wasn’t sure why not, but he was sure he didn’t want to figure it out. He heard Lance sigh.

“Yeah, I figured,” Lance called back, and Keith looked up to watch the clouds too. “You’re really fucking stubborn, you know that?”

Keith huffed a laugh, thinking back to several comments on report cards that had caused his mom a few sleepless nights. “Yeah, I’ve been told it’s my strongest character trait.”

His phone buzzed again and Keith realized he hadn’t checked any of Katie’s texts. He hesitated for a second, glancing at Lance, before he caught himself. _I’m here for school, not to laze around with idiots in extremely well-kept gardens._ Keith turned around and shook his head to clear it, preparing to go back inside and learn about space instead of the ins and outs of genie magic. In his peripheral he saw Lance look up at the sound of Keith moving.

“Wait! There’s one other thing!” Lance suddenly sounded urgent, and Keith glared at him over his shoulder. _Of course he would wait until I was about to leave_. Keith turned partially back though, waiting impatiently as Lance pushed up to his elbows with the urgency of someone who had no concept of other people’s time. Keith felt his eye twitch.

“I know you hate my guts right now, but can you not tell anyone about this?”

Keith raised an eyebrow. He didn’t know what Lance read in his expression, but two seconds later Keith was blinking in surprise as Lance flushed deeply and quickly clarified, “No! No, I mean, about the genie stuff.”

_No? No what?_ “Does no one else know?” Keith asked instead of the question he really wanted answered. “Not even your friends?”

Lance shook his head. “Nah, like Hunk might have an idea – he’s the Hawaiian one – because I’ve known him forever, but I’ve been way more careful with Pidge and my mom would kill me if I let the whole school know. God, not to mention the harassment I would get.” Lance looked sick at the possibility. Keith thought about what it would be like if the whole student body was clamoring to have their wishes granted, and he understood the feeling.

“So we’re good?”

Keith nodded slowly, brows furrowing as he realized Lance hadn’t mentioned Katie. _But there’s no way someone who isn’t his friend would have stayed by his side during that fiasco at the fresco._ He ignored Lance’s noisy exhale of relief and the sunny smile that followed.

“Who’s…Pidge?”

Right as he voiced his question, Keith was suddenly windmilling backwards off the step as the door he had been intending to open slammed into him. He finally landed with a thud near Lance. There was a moment of stunned silence from both boys in the dirt and Lance’s friend Hunk, who had swung the door open, looked owlishly down at them through center-part bangs.

Lance started to snicker loudly. Keith scowled at his now dirt-covered palms, his face heating. _Can I punch him? Shiro would be on my side by now, right?_

“What’s up, Hunk?” Lance’s voice was too cheerful for someone who had been so sorry a minute ago. Keith turned to glare at him, and found himself flushing harder when Lance glanced at him with a mocking wink.

“I came to see where you went, Lance! Orientation is starting soon!” Hunk gestured back into the hallway, his worried face reminding Keith of his mom, though Hunk and his mom were polar opposites in appearance. _I bet Hunk gives great hugs too._ “I went the wrong way and ended up in the administration offices, how did you even know this was here?”

Keith gleefully watched Lance’s smug face freeze. “Uh, lucky guess? There were only two options, Hunk!”

“Well, this place is great, but maybe we would enjoy this more if we didn’t miss orientation?” Keith appreciated how Hunk’s gaze drifted; he seemed momentarily lost in the beauty of the gardens. _He looks like a real plant lover_. Anyone who liked plants that much was good in Keith’s book.

Hunk snapped back to attention. “They opened the auditorium doors when I came to look for you, Lance! What are you guys even doing out here? Who is this guy?” He darted a quick smile at Keith. “Nice to meet you by the way, I’m Hunk.”

“Keith,” he supplied with a nod, and settled in to watch Lance explain why he had grabbed a stranger and ran away from their first day of school. _This is worth getting my jacket dirty._

Lance was visibly panicking. “Well, I- it’s a long story, Hunk! Maybe another time?”

Neither Hunk nor Keith moved.

“No? Alright, well, see what happened is, I _do_ know this guy, this- Keith, here!” Lance’s gaze darted around, as if looking for clues in the dirt or the bricks of the school building. Or maybe hoping something drastic would happen to distract Hunk forever. _I’m amazed everyone in the known universe hasn’t figured out he’s a genie by now._

“We- we met, uh…”

“Yesterday,” Keith completed, and looked back calmly at Lance’s immensely grateful stare.

“Yes! We were both, we ran into each other, at the, the–”

“Grocery store.”

Lance choked back a snicker. “Yeah!” he continued more confidently. “We were checking out at the same time, I was buying–”

“Condoms.”

Keith smirked with satisfaction as Hunk stared at Lance in shock, and Lance snapped his head to look at Keith in horror.

“Well, you know, Lance,” Hunk began kindly, clearly holding back a laugh. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Really, I’m more surprised that you grabbed him and ran away, was that really necessary?”

Keith shrugged, faking disinterest. “He wanted to tell me not to let anyone at school know,” Keith drawled, delighting in Lance’s sputters. “I guess he was pretty embarrassed.”

Hunk shook his head fondly. “Aw, Lance, you could have just told me. Now come on, we’re going to be late!”

Lance looked torn between vehemently denying Keith’s lies and defending his imaginary honor to Hunk. _Too bad he’s a terrible liar and a secret wish-machine._ Keith laughed to himself as Lance gave him a frazzled glare, clearly flushed. He shot Lance a smug smile, and after a few seconds the corners of Lance’s lips twitched.

“I’m never forgiving you for this,” Lance told him with mock seriousness, then turned to Hunk with his hands already making gestures of outrage. “The whole point was to keep a secret, Hunk! Do you not remember a certain third grade field trip?”

Keith noted that Hunk already looked too sheepish, ducking his head and revealing the sunflower design on his yellow headband; this was either a disproportionate childhood offense or an argument they’d been having for years.

“C’mon Lance! I was just a kid, I thought I was supposed to tell a teacher you knew swear words!” Hunk looked wide-eyed at Keith begging for sympathy, and Keith held back a snort. Of course, Lance’s friend would be just as dramatic as him.

“Sure, I understand,” Lance said in a voice that clearly did not offer forgiveness. “But what about sixth grade, when you told everyone who my crush was?”

“I thought you wanted him to know!” Hunk spread his hands out beseechingly. “I just wanted you to be happy!”

“Right, and in seventh grade-“

A three-tone bell echoed down the hallway, and the three boys jolted.

“Shit!” Lance exclaimed as he scrambled towards the door, and Keith quietly agreed. With Hunk in the lead, they raced down the hallway, skidded around the turn – Keith had to grab Lance for a second before the idiot skidded too far – and then ran a bit less conspicuously down the main hallway.

Keith caught the auditorium door before it closed behind the last students meandering in, panting hard and collapsing for a moment against the door as he waved a slumped Hunk and sweaty Lance in ahead of him into the dark room. _I think I’m overheating. I’ve only known Lance for twenty-four hours and I already have so much to blame him for._

Keith slid into an emptier back row as Hunk and Lance moved forward to where Katie had waved at them with a judgmental look, the auditorium door closing with a luckily quiet click. He tilted his head back against his seat and considered taking off his jacket, and maybe his boots too while no one could see him.

He lolled his head to the side to check if anyone was watching him. The dark-skinned girl from outside was sitting further down the row and looking directly back at him, her light blue sundress judging him wordlessly.

Keith returned his gaze to the ceiling.

“ _Space...”_ boomed a recorded female voice. Keith glanced at the screen showing footage stars whizzing by for a second. An array of constellations scattered across the ceiling, embedded lights glowing. There was a whooshing sound effect, and suddenly a blast of cold air swept across the room followed closely by a chorus of disgruntled noises.

“ _That is fucking cold!”_ Keith could distinctly hear Lance hiss and he grinned vindictively as he basked in the feeling of being, finally, appropriately dressed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think, and where you think this is going ;) and if the translations all work!
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated, as I am but new to this writerly world and all I wanted was to make a one-shot but here we are on a path to probably 12 chapters
> 
> What do y'all think of a weekly update schedule?


	3. The First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite the genie, Keith's day continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cabrón = bastard  
> moi = me

 

> **[Matt’s Little Sister]**
> 
> _(10:11) I go by Pidge now. I’m testing something out, so I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t say anything about me to anyone right now._
> 
> _(10:11) Not even my friends, please._
> 
> _(10:14) Hello?_
> 
> _(10:15) Also, he/him now._

 

Keith felt vaguely guilty for keeping Katie – Pidge waiting. _It sucks that that he even has to tell me._

He turned down the brightness on his phone to make it less obvious how absolutely none of his attention was on the presentation in the front of the auditorium. Someone, probably the principal, was droning on with a light accent about the intense rigors of the academy, as if the tuition wasn’t already enough of a deterrent for failure.

 

 

> **[Pidge]**
> 
> _(Sent)_ Understood. No problem, Pidge.
> 
> _(10:39) :)_
> 
> _(10:40) No one knows I’m related to Matt, either._
> 
> _(Sent)_ Makes sense. I’m not going to mention Shiro
> 
> _(Sent)_ Not even Hunk or Lance?
> 
> _(10:43) I met them during Open House, so they know I have a brother but I didn’t go into detail_
> 
> _(10:43) obviously_
> 
> _(10:45) How do you know Lance_
> 
> _(Sent)_ Saw him buying condoms at the grocery store
> 
> _(10:45) everything in me wants to mock him but I dont want to reveal how we know each other_

 

Keith smirked.

 

> _(Sent)_ Ask Hunk

 

_★★★_

 

Keith’s third class, Theoretical Astrophysics, was the end to a long day of orientations designed for fifteen-year-olds and teachers who made up for the truncated first-day schedule with rapid-fire overviews. He hadn’t seen Lance, Hunk, or Pidge since that morning; he’d heard Lance whining after the first orientation ended and slid out of the Auditorium before he could get trapped in another conversational roller-coaster. A low-drama end to his day was just what Keith needed to destress.

_And maybe more air-conditioning._ Keith was purposefully avoiding Lance, so he hadn’t had a chance to ask if the arm jewelry needed to be hidden. He would much rather keep his jacket on than ask.

Keith’s last class was in a building off to the left of the main one, far from the workshops, training rooms and simulators he would be spending most of his academic career in. The path from the Wormhole Workshops (the name had almost made Keith cry but at least they had bothered to make all the windows and doors distressingly oblique like wormholes) to the Photosphere Physics building skirted around the beautiful central gardens.

Keith sighed longingly. If it weren’t for the grossly high tuition fees, he would be laying under the sunflowers for a well-deserved nap. _With my luck though, Lance would run into me somehow._

The Photosphere Physics building was a beautiful affair of stained glass and sun-themed motifs; unfortunately for Keith, the excessive windows and afternoon sun meant he was sweating in multicolor.

He double checked the room number to the class schedule on his phone – _I’m early to this class at least, not bad –_ and pushed open the cheerful blue butterfly stained-glass door into an auditorium-styled lecture hall. Tiered seats faced a giant self-cleansing chalkboard and severe looking desk. Keith looked at the other students to scope out his seat options, and immediately regretted it.

The first row was full of too many boys wearing constellation-themed snapbacks at different angles. Keith made unfortunate eye contact with a few of them, and watched, pained, as the diverse group jostled each other, elbowing ribs exposed by side-cut tank tops and snickering blatantly at Keith’s full-black-and-leather ensemble. They looked young, but old enough to know better. _Don’t tell me these are the auditing high schoolers._

The rows right behind them were filled with mostly girls and some guys with somehow much less obnoxious snapbacks, also dressed for the constant heat of the Physics building. As he scanned their faces, he saw only sympathy and resignation – the faces of students who spent their whole day in all the same classes.

Keith tipped his head down as he went up the steps on the door-side of the classroom. He took a seat in the very last row, one blissfully empty row between him from the rest of the class, and rested his head against the table in the safety of his own arms.

For a few minutes Keith heard only parts of the academic bragging going on in the front row, which he did his best to tune out. At the sound of the door opening and an inexpert wolf-whistle he looked up just in time to see the girl from the auditorium make a face caught between disbelief and repulsion.

She looked up into the rest of the room, and met Keith’s eyes. Keith made no effort to hide exactly how he felt. A minute later, she was taking the seat next to his.

“I’m Sakshi. I’m glad you’re here.” Her smile was friendly, but he could see the irritation simmering just behind it.

Keith smirked, and they looked down together at the first row. “Keith. Likewise.”

 

_★★★_

 

“Hey, Shiro, what’s up,” Keith hummed into his phone, stooping to peer into the fridge. He repeated his greeting in Japanese, replacing Shiro’s name with _older brother_ and fake-yawned to stretch his mouth around a better accent.

He took a moment to enjoy the cool air of the fridge, painfully grateful for the summer appropriate tank and shorts he’d changed into. _You know, I’ve only ever loved my leather jacket, but I’m starting to see the error of my ways._

“How was the Academy?” Shiro’s voice sounded warmly affectionate but tired; his Japanese was a hint more natural than Keith’s, like always.

Keith frowned thoughtfully, calculating. It was only late evening for Keith – the perfect time to scrounge up dinner after a well-deserved long nap – but in Shiro’s current slice of the globe it was way too late in the night. “Uh, you meant to say space school. Did you just finish your work, is it not midnight?”

Shiro chuckled. “No, I woke up early today to set up something, and I wanted to ask you about your first day at the _Academy_. Did you make lots of new friends, lil bro? Play nice with the teachers?”

Keith rolled his eyes at Shiro’s teasing tone as he closed the fridge door. “Well, like I expected, the orientations were stupid, the teachers were crazy but the classes were good, and I think if my Astrophysics professor killed some high schoolers I would help her hide the bodies. But you won’t believe what happened yesterday-!”

He opened his mouth to go into a rant about his various Lance-related grievances, but – _Yesterday, I met a genie who dragged me out of school today to ask me not to tell anyone. Goddammit Lance, you complicate everything._

Keith scowled darkly at the gold band clamped to his left arm as Shiro chuckled. “Oh? Did you meet someone _special_?”

Keith swallowed his twinge of guilt and compromised with a half-truth. “No, but today I met someone especially _annoying_. Yesterday, I went grocery shopping. I even bought an eggplant.”

This time Shiro laughed outright. “I can’t wait for pics of your culinary masterpieces, then,” he said sunnily, and Keith scowled at his phone. He immediately hung up and sent Shiro a picture of the instant ramen he was going to end up eating anyway. He captioned it _I could cook eggplant if I wanted to,_ thumbing his phone’s Japanese keyboard on and then back off.

He didn’t need a reply to know that Shiro was probably laughing even harder, and Keith smiled a bit to himself as he added the powdered chicken flavoring to his cheap noodles. He hummed the intro of an anime he and Shiro had binged last summer as he sprayed the herbs in the kitchen windowsill with water and grabbed a fork, then settled in for a much longer call with his mom.

 

_★★★_

 

Keith sat heavily on the side of his bed, slouched forward, and stared into his closet.

His leather jacket stared back.

Keith huffed, tilting his head to glare at the bracelet still stuck to his upper arm for probably the fiftieth time in less than two days. His wet hair dripped down the side of his face, and he sighed. _I could just keep wearing the jacket._ But he had forgone everything but boxers and a single sheet on his bed just to sleep comfortably in the summer humidity, and the sun wasn’t even out.

_I could just wear normal clothes and let the bracelet show._ Unbidden, Lance’s serious eyes as he asked Keith not to tell anyone came to mind. Keith scowled fiercely, and aggressively ignored the memory of Lance’s flushed face that came immediately after.

_I guess I’ll have to ask him._

Keith sat up straight, crossed his arms and tried to flex the bracelet off. Just like every other time he’d done it, however, it simply expanded and contracted with his muscle. He growled and looked around his room. There was the hammer he’d left on the floor from his attempts last night, but he did not want a repeat of the strange cold chill hitting the bracelet had given him. He tried to work his fingernails under the metal – _maybe I can find some way to grease it… –_ but there was simply no give in an unnatural way, as if it were stuck to him by – Keith sighed. _By magic._

_Fine! You win!_ He tilted his head up and glared at his ceiling, ignoring the water dripping down his spine. _Lance! Hey! I need to talk to you!_

Keith waited impatiently, resisting the urge to tap his foot. The longer he stared upwards with narrowed eyes, the more distinctly he felt like Shiro somehow knew and was laughing at him. Keith lifted his hands up and imagined that he was strangling Lance in the air above him. It was strangely satisfying and made it easier for him to get up and slip on some sweatpants for decency, before dropping onto the foot of his bed and saying “Lance,” out loud to literally no one.

When no genie appeared, Keith sighed and grabbed the dry towel he’d left on the bed behind him. He started ruffling his wet hair, continuing his monotonous call for “Lance. Lance. _Lance._ Lance, Lance, Lance. Lance? Lance. Laaance.”

As the shooting star on his alarm clock ticked from 11:12 to 11:15, Keith felt his resignation splinter into a barely suppressed rage as he kept growling his nemesis’s name. He wanted to shout in frustration, but that would sound crazy to anyone listening. _Then again, Shiro isn’t here…_

“ _LANCE!!!”_

Keith paused, peering into the darkness of his room, but there was no hint of gray smoke anywhere and no annoyingly talkative boy puffed to life tethered to the bracelet. He could feel his leather jacket’s smothering presence in the darkness, waiting. _This is the first time I’ve been unhappy about_ not _being bothered._

Keith flopped backwards onto his bed, his feet still planted on the floor. He sighed lowly as he pushed his damp bangs back with his fingers, his towel clenched in his other hand and probably leaving wet spots on his maroon sheets that he would hate later. As his body adjusted to his mattress, Keith felt every inch of how badly he just wanted to go to sleep.

He stared blankly at his ceiling, debating just finding Lance in the morning. _I could just bring my jacket and take it off after I talk to him…but it would suck if I had to overheat another day. A long-sleeved shirt?_

Keith scowled, his eyes sliding closed of their own volition. He was already putting in too much effort for an idiot who probably would show up tomorrow energetic and disgustingly unaware of Keith’s late-night stress. _Goddamn, I just want this idiot to show up so I can go the fuck to bed._

“Something I can do for you, Keith?”

“Gah!” Keith shouted in shock and bolted upright, flinging whatever he was holding in the direction of that creepily smug voice. He barely resisted the urge to clutch at his pounding heart as he watched Lance’s midsection disperse into smoke around the towel, only to recollect into a loose alien-patterned shirt. _I never want to see that happen again._

Keith tore his eyes away from Lance’s smoke-illusion torso and hurriedly recomposed his horrified face into a calm façade, just in time to maintain an unconcerned gaze when Lance looked at him with an incredibly obnoxious sneer.

“Hey! What was that for!” Lance accompanied this with unnecessary hand gestures, and Keith was pained by how he was already able to predict Lance’s actions. _It’s been two days too many._ Lance’s lower body merged into a trail of gray smoke that tethered to the now cold bracelet. Keith was careful not to look at that either, trying to ignore how his skin tingled every time the smoke bobbed against him.

“Nice of you to show up,” he said icily, and was unsurprised when Lance rolled his eyes so hard his body shifted upwards.

“Dude, I told you I can feel when you really want something.” Lance grinned and floated closer to Keith. “And depending on how bad you want it, I _choose_ to appear.”

Keith scowled as he was forced to tip his head up to maintain steady eye contact, pointedly not responding to Lance’s little power trip. _I’m absolutely not telling him that I called his name for a good five minutes._

Keith’d forgotten that tidbit of genie information, from the first day they’d met. Lance clearly couldn’t read his thoughts, and it seemed the genie couldn’t hear anything Keith said either when not present, even if Keith was talking about him. Keith wasn’t sure how he felt about this; on one hand, Keith liked his privacy, but on the other hand, this made Lance difficult to get a hold of. _What do I care? It’s not like I want to talk to him anyway!_

“Well? I can tell there was something you wanted, so what’s up?” Lance’s blue eyes glinted in the dark, and Keith realized that the punk, the smoke, and the bracelet were all glowing slightly, just enough to make everything uncomfortably ethereal.

“I wanted to know what to do about the bracelet.” Keith’s voice was sleep-hoarse; he compensated by looking Lance coolly in the eye even as a wave of longing rolled through his body at the thought of just lying back down and sleeping.

Lance looked almost surprised for a second, and his cocky demeanor dropped. “I – oh. The bracelet?”

Keith watched the concerned lilt to his eyebrows as Lance frowned, eyes trailing from Keith’s eyes to his bare arm. The cool tingle of the bracelet and smoke were almost welcome in the heat of the room, now that Keith was adjusting to the strange sensation.

“Is there something wrong with it, man? Like is it hurting you or something?” Lance began to reach towards the jewelry before his hand stopped mid-motion. Keith raised an eyebrow and Lance dropped his hand as if he’d never moved it in the first place. “It really shouldn’t, it’s not meant to harm.”

“It’s fine. I wanted to know if I should keep it covered up.” _Please say no, I think I’d die in long sleeves._

This time Lance definitely looked surprised. “That’s it? Why?”

Keith rolled his eyes. _Idiot._ “I’m supposed to be hiding that you’re a genie, right? I’ve got a magical artifact visibly strapped to my arm, is that gonna be a problem?”

Lance blinked. “I…I don’t think so,” he said hesitantly, giving him a strange look. For a second, it was like Lance was trying to see beneath his Ice Queen façade, and Keith felt uncomfortably like he had already given away too much.

Keith resisted squirming under Lance’s gaze, and instead huffed with very _some genie you are_ implications, hiding his amusement when this predictably riled Lance up.

“Ugh, shut your face! Sorry I didn’t realize you were calling me here for a freakin’ technicality, usually people don’t withhold their wishes long enough for this to be an issue!” Lance’s eyes lit up as he scowled at Keith, and his hand gestures were as always disproportionately large for the situation.

Keith fought a smirk. _I wonder what his hands will do when he’s ranting about a real problem._

Lance paused and peered at his expression even as Keith contorted it back into a scowl, then suddenly relaxed his frown into a haughty expression that made Keith regret his own mouth, meeting Lance, and his life at large.

Lance flapped a loose hand in Keith’s direction. “Not to pressure you, your wishes your consent, whatever, I’m a magnanimous guy. But, as far as I know the jewelry makes itself unnoticeable, you know? Like obviously people will see that it’s there, but there’s kind of a glamour to it. Unless I _want_ attention to be called to it, of course, draw in some _weekend passerby_.”

Lance leaned into Keith’s space radiating smugness, and Keith rolled his eyes loudly as he leaned back. He was tempted to lift a hand and snap “As if!” or “In your dreams!” but Keith had a feeling that classic 90s heroine would unfortunately still be too subtle for Lance. He settled for curling his upper lip and flexing just enough to make it clear how much getting punched would hurt.

He watched Lance’s eyes flickered down his torso and was surprised by Lance’s easy, cheerful laugh as the punk moved back.

“I’m just messing with you, man, I’m not going back on my apology, it hasn’t even been a whole day yet! Besides, you like to rile me up all the time so fair’s fair, huh?”

A lighthearted wink punctuated how easy Keith had been to figure out. Keith looked away with a scowl, trying to swallow his disappointment in himself and the thrum of anxiety at the thought of being seen.

“Uh, I mean, whatever! Fuck you, man! People are lucky, people are _blessed_ to even be in the presence of an angel like myself! Although I can’t really say the same about having to meet them,” Lance sneered and Keith looked up at the taunts despite himself with a reflexive glare. Lance was perfectly playing the role of a condescending dumbass, but the mild concern in his blue eyes betrayed him. Still, it was enough for Keith.

“Right, I’m sure a glow-in-the-dark stalker is exactly what they wanted.”

Lance scoffed outrageously at his dry tone. “No wonder you’re reluctant to make a wish, no magic can give you a better sense of humor –  or save your fashion sense, mullet man! If you love me, you’ll never wear those fingerless gloves again, got it?”

Lance stuck his tongue out at him and disappeared. Keith sighed to himself as his eyes readjusted to the dark. _So basically, an immature excuse to harass me._

His left arm shivered with cold and Keith managed to not shout this time as he jolted with surprise. Lance leaned sideways into his vision as Keith blinked away the sudden light change.

“So what I’m saying, is if you don’t wear the gloves tomorrow then you love me.”

Keith stayed aggressively mute.

“Got it? Not wearing the gloves means you are terribly, irreversibly in love with _moi_ , the genie of your dreams.”

Keith couldn’t have stopped himself from rolling his eyes at Lance’s annoyingly self-satisfied grin if he tried. “Yeah, I got it the first time, you idiot.”

“Alright, Keith,” Lance drawled, still hovering at an angle that made Keith want to straighten some picture frames. “Just so we’re on the same page…” And with a peace sign and a wide-eyed stare, Lance popped out of existence again.

Keith waited a few beats, pressing his arm to spread the chill. Then he flopped back onto his bed and scowled at the ceiling. If he really wanted to discourage Lance, Shiro had taught him the value of not engaging instead of lashing out in anger or taking a stupid challenge. But on the other hand, … _I mean, that kid will never let this go if I don’t, right?_

Keith slid off his sweatpants and stretched out on his bed in the summer heat, carefully not thinking too hard about anything.

 

_★★★_

 

Lance, waiting with Pidge as Hunk rifled through his locker, looked like his birthweek had come early when he caught sight of Keith. The lockers were in a hallway parallel to the dark fresco corridor, but this hallway was brightly lit; there was no way his friends wouldn’t noticed Lance’s beaming face.

Keith smirked to himself behind the door of his locker, stuffing a couple of his carefully organized new school-issued textbooks into (Shiro’s old) canvas backpack. He slammed the metal door shut and pressed his thumb twice against the scanpad to lock it, all the while acting like thick fingerless gloves paired with tank tops were summertime vogue. He pretended not to notice Hunk and Pidge’s confused, suspicious glances as they caught on to where Lance was looking.

Lance shifted to the center of the hallway as they dispersed for classes with a blatantly fake nonchalance, and Keith did the same. As they passed each other, Keith smirking devilishly – but not _at_ Lance, of course – the punk sneered and elbowed him in his bare arm, stage-whispering a dark “ _cabrón”_ under his breath.

The bracelet sparked cold at the second of contact and Keith, voice overly mean, snapped “bastard” over his shoulder. He restrained his smirk from pulling into a grin as he heard Lance’s squawk of laughter behind him and Hunk’s confused noises.

Outside, Keith cut through the Gardens to avoid the ambling students on the path. He looked up at the sky and didn’t get his mouth back under control until he reached his first class.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I actually had this done two weeks ago but chapter 2 was so long I forgot what a normal sized chapter looks like so I thought this was too short >>
> 
> (Also, I just realized that instead of the Academy I could've calling this place the Garrison BUT I'M STICKING TO IT)
> 
> Let me know what you think of the chapter! I waited so long to post it I'm nervous now ^^; has this expanded your vocab at all?


	4. NOTICE!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A notice for y'all

Hello everyone, This fic has been on hiatus for a long while due to grad school, a int'l move and some stressful job searching but I am generally notifying the public that I haven't forgotten it or given up on it. I'm currently rewriting chapter 1 thanks to some edits from a lovely beta reader and I'll get some of my momentum back and hopefully post a real chapter 4 by the end of this year....

Thank you so much to anyone who's read, bookmarked or commented so far, _besos_ , I'm so glad you like what I have so far and I do have a plot in mind so the wait shoouuuuuld be worth it? What is worth truly     If anyone's interested I might start posting more visual content for this 'verse on Tumblr too because genie!Lance (and ...!Keith?) has been stuck in my head forever ;)

 

In summary: This Fic is Safe for Emotional Investment [TFSEI]!


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